The Hawk's Talons
by Lugia's Apprentice
Summary: They want nothing more than for him to disappear, but they may need him more than they know...


This was kind of an experiment for me; I couldn't decide whether to write it or not. I want honest opinions on how I did!  
Disclaimer: I only own the characters.

They hated him. He never knew why. All he did was train his partners his way. Yet they hated him, shunning him, banning him from places, throwing vicious insults. They called him jerk, evil, and one even had the nerve to call him demon. He had no idea why they did their best to make his life a living hell. So what if he was powerful? So what if he could communicate with Pokémon? So what if he held a burning hatred for abusive Trainers? That was no excuse for them to attack him. In fact, it should've been the other way around! He'd never do that without good reason, however. His honor was too great.

So Hawk ran. He always ran. Never staying in one place for too long, never stopping for idle chat, never even showing his face. He wore a cloak at all times, concealing his upper face from his attackers. But he was no coward. Oh no. If a Trainer abused their Pokémon in front of him, that Trainer NEVER escaped unharmed, or even conscious. It was because of this that he was driven from his home.

Hawk was driven from his musings by the feeling of a kid crashing into his legs. Hawk looked down. The kid was approximately eight years old, just old enough to be a Trainer. Hawk didn't know when the age had been changed. It didn't matter to him; more Trainers meant more chances for his partners to improve. This kid was wearing a bright yellow short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans with a small hole in the left knee. The kid's hair was brown and short. Typical. He looked into the kid's eyes. They were full of ambition and confidence, but Hawk could see a bit of nervousness. "_He must have just received his first partner_," thought the fugitive. After trying to look at Hawk's eyes, and failing to do so, the kid spoke up.

"My name's Tim. I can't see your eyes, but let's battle!" he said. Hawk felt a small smile creep up his face. This kid had so much potential, and was a little bit of sunshine in Hawk's depressing world. He decided to take Tim's challenge. "Very well. Let's do this!" he replied. After taking several paces back so the Pokémon had room to battle, he reached up and pulled the blue hood off.

Hawk's face had four jagged, horizontal blue stripes, two above the mouth, two below. His hair was a mess of black spikes that curled up at the back. The most striking thing about Hawk, though, was his eyes. They were a deep indigo, and looked like they could see into your soul. That was another reason they hated Hawk: he was psychic. He could tell what kind of person you were and what emotions you felt just by looking at you. After five seconds of Tim gaping, the kid spoke up.

"You… you're…" It appeared that Tim was terrified. Hawk looked puzzled. "I'm what?" "You're Hawk!" Tim exclaimed. "I have to tell the guys that you're here!" He tried to run away, but Hawk held up his black-gloved hand. Tim stopped. "Only if you defeat me, little one," Hawk said soothingly. "Besides, YOU challenged ME. What would your friends think if you ran away from your first battle, much less one that YOU asked for?" he pressed. Tim was too stunned to ask how Hawk knew it was his first. Shrugging it off, he reached for his Poke Ball and threw it. Hawk was surprised at what came out: a Flygon.

"I must say I'm impressed. How did one your age come across a majestic beast like this?" asked the loner. Flygon gave a happy noise at Hawk's praise. To Hawk it sounded like "Thanks! You're not so bad yourself!" Now it was Tim's turn to smirk. "Dunno. I found a Trapinch when I was five. A few years and lots of games later, here we are!" Hawk looked Flygon over, sizing it up. At last, he made a selection. Throwing a Luxury Ball, he said "Ivysaur, it's your turn." Out of the ball in a flash of light came the iconic blue-green dinosaur. Ivysaur spun its leaves as a sort of warm-up. Tim laughed. "How can a midget like that beat Flygon?" Hardened to insults, Hawk and Ivysaur remained calm. 'You don't know me very well, do you?" asked Hawk. "Never mind. You can have the first move." Hawk waited for the boy's opening move.

"Flygon, use Dragonbreath!" shouted Tim. Flygon wasted no time in firing a purple beam from its mouth. Hawk smirked. "Ivysaur, you know what to do." Ivysaur took aim with its bulb, then fired, releasing the toxins of Sludge Bomb into the beam, which merely absorbed the attack before colliding with Ivysaur.

When the dust cleared, Ivysaur stood unharmed. In fact, it looked better than when it had started! Tim didn't have time to react before Hawk struck again. "Poison it," said the loner. Ivysaur dashed under Flygon, releasing a purple powder as it ran. Poisonpowder. Ivysaur's toxins must have been unusually strong, for Flygon crashed to the ground immediately. "Flygon, get up!" pleaded Tim. "Finish it," ordered Hawk. Ivysaur's entire body began to glow green. The Seed Pokémon plunged its vines into the ground. There was a great rumbling and a tremor or two, before two mighty trees came up out of nowhere, then fell, crushing the unlucky Flygon with the epic powers of Frenzy Plant.

Tim recalled Flygon and Hawk recalled Ivysaur. "Anything else before I go?" he asked. "How…how did you beat Flygon so easily?" asked a trembling Tim. "The difference between our Pokémon," replied Hawk matter-of-factly, "is that Ivysaur has a great deal more experience." The battle won, Hawk pulled his hood back over his face and went on his way.

So, how'd I do?  
Ivysaur: Read and review so I can kick more butt!  
I am accepting OCs as challengers for Hawk!


End file.
